In Genesis 13, Lot and Abram decided to go their separate ways as their combined number was too great for the land they occupied. Abram did this amicably, as Lot was his brother and gave Lot the first choice. Seeing the land to their east was fertile, Lot chose the wealthier option and went east, even though the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were there. Abram stayed in Canaan without challenging Lot’s choice. We read later on that Lot’s choice brought him close to disaster, while God remained with Abram.

Even today, we face the same choices. Firstly, we may have disagreements with others. Sometimes these things should not have arisen in the first place. We are called to love our neighbour, and so if a disagreement is necessary, the resolution should be a loving one. Sometimes, there can be no budging, if the disagreement is on a matter of truth. However sometimes it might even mean backing down and taking second-place if the issue isn’t important.

Secondly, sometimes we have to decide whether to go for a morally dubious job or participate in a morally dubious activity, in order to have great financial/worldly gain rather than to do what it right. Yet, what is right, what God decrees is for our own long-term good. This is not to say financial, or any other type of, ascetism has any merit, for there is nothing wrong with having money through moral activities in itself. We need to be careful what we put first in our lives though.

Ultimately, through our choices, we should place God first, for it is better to be on God’s side whatever the circumstances.

In the evening, we continued our look at the armour of God, looking specifically at the helmet of salvation.

It is important we have first grasped salvation through faith in Christ, for it is by this faith we are justified before God. We need to realise our sins have set God against us, that his wrath will eventually be exacted upon us for all eternity. We need to realise our sins have to be dealt with. Nothing else we do, either holding to a specific system of doctrine, or doing as much good as we can, can justify us before God. There is no other way to the Father, no other was to deal with our sins, except through Jesus Christ, the Son himself says so. If there were some other way, it would not have been necessary for God the Son to present himself as a sacrifice and substitute for us.

We must also realise that once we are justified, we will undergo sanctification, where the Holy Spirit works in our heart, transforming us to be conformed to the likeness of Christ, to be more and more holy. So not only are we saved through justification, we are being saved through sanctification.

If that were not enough, through Christ we are adopted as sons of God and are glorified in heaven at the last day. It was not enough that God justified us and sanctified us by the blood of his Son, but that his love is so great we are adopted and glorified. In effect, if our faith is in Jesus Christ, we are saved, we are being saved and we will be saved.

Q bf